‘Self-proclaimed racist skinhead’ sentenced for death threats against Maine family

A Maine man who admitted to sending racist death threats to a black family living in his Lewiston apartment complex will spend 30 months behind bars.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Charles Allen Barnes, 46, of Lewiston, was sentenced Wednesday. He pleaded guilty in March to sending threatening messages in interstate commerce.

According to court documents, Barnes used Facebook Messenger to record and send a voice message containing racist slurs in which he made graphic and violent threats to kill his neighbors in August 2022.

“Violent and racially motivated threats have no place in our society,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. “This defendant, a self-described racist skinhead, used social media to terrorize his innocent neighbors because they are black. This verdict cannot undo the fear and trauma his hateful actions caused, but it should make clear that online threats carry real-world penalties. The Justice Department rigorously enforces our federal civil rights laws to ensure that all communities, including communities of color, are protected from hate-fueled threats of violence.”

In the message, according to the Justice Department, Barnes repeatedly made derogatory remarks about the neighbor's race and stated that he was waiting outside the neighbor's apartment and would kill the next person to leave.

The Justice Department said that several hours after he sent the threatening message, police officers found Barnes sitting outside his apartment in the same complex, armed with a large knife.

“The hateful threat and his subsequent possession of a weapon nearby instilled fear in this family in the place where we should all feel safest,” said U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee for the District of Maine. “Hate of any kind will not be tolerated in Maine, and we will continue to fight for justice for victims of racist harassment, threats and violence.”

According to evidence presented at sentencing, Barnes had long held racist views, used white supremacist rhetoric online, and described himself to an acquaintance as a racist skinhead.

Barnes must serve a 30-month prison sentence followed by three years probation.